ABC Kids
Logo used since 2020
CountryAustralia
Broadcast areaNationally
NetworkABC Television
Programming
Language(s)English
Picture format576i SDTV
720p HDTV[lower-alpha 1]
Ownership
OwnerAustralian Broadcasting Corporation
Sister channelsABC TV
ABC TV Plus
ABC Me
ABC News
History
Launched13 September 1991 (1991-09-13) (programming block)
2 May 2011 (2 May 2011) (part–time channel)
Former namesABC For Kids (1991–2001, 2009–2015)
ABC Kids (2001–2009, 2015–present)
ABC For Kids on 2 (2009–2011)
ABC 4 Kids (2011–2015)
Links
Websiteabc.net.au/tv/abckids/
Availability
Terrestrial
ABN Sydney (DVB-T)546/674 @ 12 (226.5 MHz)
ABV Melbourne (DVB-T)562 @ 12 (226.5 MHz)
ABQ Brisbane (DVB-T)578 @ 12 (226.5 MHz)
ABS Adelaide (DVB-T)594 @ 12 (226.5 MHz)
ABW Perth/Mandurah (DVB-T)738 @ 12 (226.5 MHz)
ABT Hobart (DVB-T)626 @ 8 (191.5 MHz)
ABD Darwin (DVB-T)642 @ 30 (543.5 MHz)
Freeview ABC iView (virtual)22
Streaming media
ABC iview live stream

ABC Kids is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's part-time channel, broadcasting shows between the hours of 5 am and 7:30 pm for children 6 years old and younger, including an upper preschool audience.[1] It shares the same bandwidth as ABC TV Plus which broadcasts outside ABC Kids' scheduled hours and supplements the flagship ABC TV channel with extra adult-oriented programming. It has an educational program for children ages 2 to 13 called "ABC Reading Eggs" for Australia, internationally called "Reading Eggs" and owned by Edmentum.

History

Origins

In 1991, all children's programming on the ABC was organized into a daily broadcasting block under the name ABC For Kids. This new programming block featured a range of programming ranging from preschoolers to young children and included both old and new content. The logo featured six blocks (3 across, 2 down) with the top row lettered "A", "B" and "C", and the bottom row featuring an apple, a bee and a carrot beneath their respective letter.

2001–2009

In August 2001, the ABC For Kids timeslot was rebranded as ABC Kids and content was expanded to include shows for older children as well as younger children. A new logo was also introduced, featuring a solid green Lissajous curve (taken from the ABC's logo) overlaid with "ABC Kids" in lowercase blue letters.

2001–2003: ABC Kids and Fly TV channels

In addition to the daily broadcasting block on the ABC, a new children's channel with the ABC Kids branding commenced transmission nationally on 1 August 2001 on channel 21, becoming ABC Television's first digital multichannel service. The service was officially inaugurated by former ABC Managing Director, Jonathan Shier, at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra on 7 August 2001. The ABC launched the channel without additional funding, hoping that its success would prompt an additional government grant.[2] ABC Kids was broadcast from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm, with the remaining broadcasting time occupied by its sister service, Fly TV.

Fly TV was launched on 1 November 2001 to feature programming aimed at teenagers and young adults and broadcast a 6-hour block from 6:00 pm to 12:00 am, which was repeated from 12:00 am to 6:00 am. In addition to their availability on free-to-air television, the ABC Kids and Fly TV channels were also available on Austar channel 14 and Optus TV channel 21.

The ABC Kids and Fly TV channels were discontinued on 30 June 2003 in the first of a series of cuts to save around A$25 million a year for the ABC. The ABC could not secure government funding to keep the channel on-air, and the sluggish uptake of digital television in Australia at the time made justifying a digital-only channel with a low viewership against the cost of keeping the channel on-air difficult.[3][4] However, the ABC Kids brand still remained throughout this period on the ABC's daily children's broadcasting block.

After the close of the ABC Kids and Fly TV channels, programming for younger Fly TV viewers was integrated into the ABC Kids broadcasting block.

2009–2011: Split between two channels

In February 2009, two daily blocks of children's programming were launched as ABC1 For Kids, running from 8:00 am to 11:00 am and 2:55 pm to 4:00 pm on ABC1. On 4 December 2009, a new preschool children's block, ABC For Kids on 2 was launched on ABC2, featuring children's programming every day until 6 pm.[5] Some ABC2 programmes had to be cancelled or relocated to other channels, such as Rage. The classic ABC For Kids logo from 1991 was rendered in 3D when the ABC for Kids name was revived.

2011–present: Part-time channel refocus

In May 2011, the Weekday Morning Children's Block on ABC1 was removed. ABC for Kids on 2 rebranded as ABC 4 Kids and was refocused as a part-time channel for preschoolers sharing the same bandwidth of ABC2 between 6 am and 7 pm. A new logo based on the ABC3 logo was also introduced.[6]

In early 2014 all children's programming was removed from the main ABC channel and was divided between ABC 4 Kids and ABC3.[7] Broadcasting of this the channel was rescheduled to begin at 5 am instead of 6 am on 7 July 2014.[8]

On 2 March 2015, the name of the channel was changed to ABC Kids and a new logo inspired by the classic children's logo was unveiled.[9]

Within the rebrand of ABC Comedy on 4 December 2017, broadcasting of the channel was rescheduled to end at 7:30 pm instead of 7 pm.[10]

The channel again received a new logo and look on 17 March 2020, introducing three animated characters based on the classic logo (an apple, a bee and a crocodile named Croc, instead of a carrot). The rebrand was designed by ABC Made, the ABC's in-house award-winning creative team.[11]

Broadcasting of the channel was rescheduled to end at 6:30 pm instead of 7:30 pm on 1 January 2023.[12][13][14]

Broadcasting of the channel was rescheduled to end at 7 pm instead of 6:30 pm on 6 February 2023, due to audience feedback.[15]

Broadcasting of the channel was rescheduled back to end at 7:30 pm instead of 7 pm on 13 February 2023, due to complaints.[16][17]

Programming

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Available on the ABC iview live stream.

References

  1. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions". ABC TV. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  2. ↑ "ABC Launches Kids Channel". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 7 August 2001. Archived from the original on 8 September 2007. Retrieved 21 September 2007.
  3. ↑ "ABC Closes Digital Multichannels". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 26 May 2003. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2007.
  4. ↑ Crabb, Annabel (27 May 2003). "Anger over the ABC's cuts for kids". The Age. Canberra. Archived from the original on 4 July 2003. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  5. ↑ Calder, Kate (1 October 2009). "ABC3 Australia moves to fill first sked". Kidscreen. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  6. ↑ "ABC to launch new ABC 4 Kids branding". 21 April 2011. Archived from the original on 5 May 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  7. ↑ Knox, David (21 January 2014). "ABC Kids programming moving to multichannels". TV Tonight. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  8. ↑ ABC Kids [@abckids] (7 July 2014). "ABC4Kids now commences at 5am, seven days a week. Here's information about our new schedule: http://ab.co/1kxKyTx" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ↑ "ABC Kids unveils new brand identity via brand, design and communications agency Hulsbosch". 10 March 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  10. ↑ "ABC KIDS - Extended Hours". Facebook. 27 November 2017.
  11. ↑ "ABC Kids unveils fresh new brand identity". AdNews. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  12. ↑ "Fancy an earlier bedtime, parents?". Facebook. 1 January 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  13. ↑ "🥱 Fancy an earlier bedtime, parents? 😴 - ABC Kids Community". Facebook. 27 December 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  14. ↑ Knox, David (20 December 2022). "Multichannel Survey 2022: ABC Kids, ABC TV Plus, ABC ME, ABC News. | TV Tonight". TV Tonight. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  15. ↑ "ABC Kids/ABC TV Plus programming". About the ABC. 23 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  16. ↑ "ABC Kids programming". About the ABC. 10 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  17. ↑ Knox, David (12 February 2023). ""We've listened to the audience feedback": ABC backflips on kids programming time | TV Tonight". TV Tonight. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
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